In a typical cellular wireless communication system, a radio access network (RAN) includes a plurality of base stations, each of which radiates to define one or more wireless coverage areas such as a cell and cell sectors in which wireless communication devices (WCDs) can be served by the RAN and can thereby obtain connectivity with broader networks such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and the Internet.
In general, each coverage area defined by the RAN may have various types of resources that the RAN can allocate for use to support calls (e.g., voice calls or data communication sessions) by WCDs. For instance, air interface communications in each coverage area may occur on one or more carrier frequencies, and the RAN may direct the WCD to communicate on a particular one of the carrier frequencies implemented in that coverage area. As another example, the air interface of each coverage area (e.g. on each carrier frequency) may define a number of traffic channels, and the RAN may direct the WCD to communicate on a particular one of those traffic channels. Other examples exist as well.